What is a batch file ?

Batch file can contain a series of commands which can work on DOS, OS2 and Windows. The batch file can be edited in any notepad application. In short we can say batch file is a script file which contains series of commands, which can be executed by the cmd.exe or command line interpreter.

The batch file name extension can be .bat in DOS and Windows, .btm in specific shell command interpreters and also .cmd.

You can use the below steps to create a sample batch file.

1. If you are using Microsoft windows, open notepad application

2. Copy the below code in the notepad file:

@echo off
SET /p name="Enter your name: "
echo .
echo .
echo Your Name is %name%
Pause

3. Save this text file. After saving close the text file and rename the file extension from .txt to .bat

4. In my case i have saved it as check.bat

      

5. Double click on this file and it will open a dos window.

We just created a batch file, which asks us for the input and replies with the output. In similar way we can add series of questions and create a interactive batch file.

How the above code works ?

@echo off
This turns off the text which is not required to view, when running a command. e.g. the selected drive path. You can try changing the @echo off to @echo on to see the results.

SET /p name="Enter your name: "
Here we are asking the user to input his/her name. the Set /p command assigns the value of the input to a variable name.

echo .
echo .
Added above code just to create 2 lines, before the output line.

echo Your Name is %name%
Here we are showing the variable name value in the final output line. In order to read the variable by the code interpreter, we need to add % at start and end of the variable. In this case %name%

Pause
We added the Pause code, to pause the window from exiting or executing any other command. If we remove this, the DOS window will exit once we press enter after input line.

Thank you for reading.

Also see:
How to restart google chrome fast and improve system performance ?
WhatsApp launched Video Calling Feature
What is the best free software for video conversion ?
How to convert files into PDF ?
What are the few free must have apps in your system ?

How to restart google chrome fast and improve system performance ?

Most of the users use the Google Chrome as their default browser. While it is observed that, after opening multiple tabs in chrome browser, your chrome and the system slows down.

This is caused due to multiple ad-dons running in chrome and multiple pages open, eating up the system RAM (read only memory).

To make the system and chrome faster, the only solution comes to mind is uninstall the ad-dons or restart the chrome browser. which will free up the RAM space.

The way to restart chrome is to close the google chrome browser and open it from the desktop shortcut. Apart from this method, chrome has provided a special feature in the browser, to restart the chrome using the web url.

The url is to restart chrome is chrome://restart . Copy paste this url to your browsers address bard and hit enter, this will close the google chrome browser and re-open the same. The restart of the browser results in freeing up RAM space and making the system and browser faster.

This url can be added to the bookmarks and run whenever you feel the chrome or your system is slowing down.

To add this url to the chrome bookmark, please follow the below steps:
1. Open new tab in chrome browser
2.  Press Ctrl + D. This will open the below pop up window.

3. Click on Edit button. this will give you a below pop-up window.

4. Rename the Name of your choice (use your creativity:-)). In my case i have renamed the Name to RestartChrome.

5. Paste the copied url in the URL box. chrome://restart

6. Done


This URL can be now access from your bookmarks menu of the chrome and will give you a one click restart and start feature of Google Chrome to free up RAM space instantly.

Chrome has many other such features which can be very helpful. e,g. chrome://quit/ to close the chrome or chrome://bookmarks/ to view all bookmarks. To have a look at such similar features of chrome browser, copy paste the below url to the address bar.

chrome://chrome-urls/

In case you need to check how much space your chrome browser is taking in the system RAM, Right click on your task bar and click on Task Manager. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the task manager.

Once the task manager is open, go to Processes, Sort by Image Name and you can see the space consumed by Chrome.exe.

Thank you for reading.

Also read my posts on:
WhatsApp launched Video Calling Feature
What is the best free software for video conversion ?
How to convert files into PDF ?
What are the few free must have apps in your system ?

What is the best free software for video conversion ?

Converting AVI, WMV, DV files in all possible combinations was never been so easy and simple.With this free application you need to pick up one or multiple source video files, select output audio and video settings using pre-installed or custom profiles, and convert to single or multiple output video files. It also supports DivX with MP3 and Windows Media 9.

STOIK Video Converter 2.0 is the new release of popular freeware utility which has millions of satisfied users who enjoy power, speed, and simplicity of this versatile instrument. Second version brings further functional and interface enhancements, while preserving the strait forward interface design which makes this program so easy and fun to use.

What's new STOIK Video Converter 2.0

- Windows Media 9 support: pre-installed profiles for WM9, profile editor
- Convert multiple input files into single output file
- Perform batch conversion of multiple files
- DV file output
- Preserve interlacing during conversion between different frame sizes, e.g. NTSC-PAL
- Output settings are stored in profiles for easy reuse
- Support of more popular AVI codecs such as DivX + MP3

Freeware STOIK Video Converter 2.0 can easily be upgraded to a PRO version in just few seconds upon purchase of the activation key. 

Operating System : Windows XP,Windows 2000,Windows 98,Windows Me,Windows NT
Requirements: Pentium III 450, 128 MB RAM, DirectX 9, Windows Media Player 9.

http://www.stoik.com/products/video/STOIK-Video-Converter/

What are the few free must have apps in your system ?

Listed below are the few free must have applications, which can be very essential for you.


Utility for your Hardware
Belarc Advisor
If you’re looking for an exquisitely detailed audit of your hardware, this is the download you need. The program starts with the basics, such as the computer manufacturer, installed RAM, hard-disk size, and processor type and speed. But it also shows you the motherboard maker, hard-disk manufacturer, chassis serial number, PC service tag, bus type and speed, multimedia devices…the list goes on and on.

Customize Windows Vista
TweakVI Basic
If you want to do some serious Windows Vista tweaking, you need this utility. Microsoft seems to have gone out of its way to make Vista unfriendly to power users. But this great freebie gives you hundreds of ways to adjust the operating system, tasks that otherwise would be extremely difficult to do. Whether you want to, say, hack the Start menu, put an image on Internet Explorer’s toolbar, or optimize your CPU’s cache, this program has something for you.

Customize Windows XP 
Fresh UI
Fresh UI is a tweaker’s heaven: With it you can change scores of settings in XP, many of which you probably never knew existed. Want to alter most any aspect of the Windows interface? Go ahead. Customize the Start menu? No problem. Change global menu settings and dozens of network and Internet settings? You can do them all, and a whole lot more.

Communication software
Meebo
How can you be in two or more places at once — that is, use multiple instant messaging services simultaneously? Use Meebo. It lets you log in simultaneously to seven instant messaging services, namely AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN Live Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, and Meebo’s own network. You see all your contacts in a single list, and you can correspond with them all from a single interface. It’s perfect for instant messaging on the road, since you don’t need to download a client; everything is available on Meebo’s Web site.

Online RSS Reader
BlogLines
The Web-based Bloglines loads quickly, sports a sophisticated interface, and delivers such snappy responses that you’d almost think you were using downloaded software. Bloglines makes subscribing to and reading feeds easy, as well. We’re particularly fond of the Clippings feature, which allows you to add any blog or Web page text to a special Clippings tab; that way, you can keep all of your important posts in a single location for easy retrieval. We also like Clip Blogs, which are clips from blogs that you can keep private or share with others.

Office Productivity Software and Services
Zoho
What makes Zoho the winner is that it doesn’t merely try to copy Microsoft Office functionality. It’s Web-based, so you can collaborate with others on your documents, for example. But the functionality of even the base software beats Microsoft’s offering in some areas; for creating HTML and graphics-heavy documents, for instance, it surpasses Word. This is the best and most comprehensive Web-based office suite you can find. Included are a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation program, and a database builder — and plenty of other productivity applications are being added all the time.

Software for Time Management
BackPack
Juggling multiple projects has never been so easy. For every project you create a separate page, each of which can include to-do lists, freeform text, notes, links, files, images, and reminders. Backpack also has a calendar, and if you use Apple iCal, Mozilla Calendar, or any program that supports the iCalendar format, your reminders will be automatically added to your Backpack calendar. You can even have reminders sent to you via e-mail or to your cell phone.

Video watching software
VLC Media Player

If you play a lot of video and use Windows Media Player, you’ve probably come across a number of files that you can’t play — you’re told you need to have a codec to handle them. Good luck finding that codec. Instead, try the VLC media player. This software plays pretty much every media type you can think of — and likely a few you haven’t imagined. Not only will it play audio and video formats, but it will also play DVDs, VCDs, and many streaming protocols.

How to convert files into PDF ?

You can download the DoPdf printer from www.dopdf.com/

DoPDF is free PDF converter you can use to create PDF from any printable document. Download this free PDF printer right now and use it to convert to PDF.

Give print command as usual for all the documents. 
Once the doPDF printer is installed in your systems, you can select it while printing.

It gives you different options of converting the file into PDF format. In order to Print, Email or Save.

Online Photo Editing Tools ?

1. PiZap : this is a free, easy, online photo editor and collage making tool. 

PiZap is also available on the Apple iPhone and iPad in the App Store. Edit your pics, make cool picture collages, and decorate your images with filters and stickers. Get creative with 1000's of borders, collage templates, backgrounds, stickers, free timeline covers, and funny webcam effects.

2. Fotor.com : Online photo editing made simple and fun

Fotor was launched in May of 2012 and has from the very beginning brought powerful, easy to use photo editing tools into the hands of anyone and everyone with an internet connection. Utilizing cloud computing to provide a suite of image processing tools ranging from basic cropping to HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing, Fotor has made professional-level photo editing accessible to everyday users through a clean, intuitive interface and workflow. Fotor strives to provide the highest quality tools in the most accessible manner and continues to pursue this goal with each new product and version release. Stay tuned for news concerning Fotor's latest developments, new product and version releases, and much more by joining our communities on Facebook and Twitter!

3. Pixlr.com : This is a advanced image editing online application

Pixlr provides below different products

PIXLR EDITOR

PIXLR EXPRESS

PIXLR FOR MAC/PC

PIXLR FOR DESKTOP

4. PhotoCat.com : This is a small team of photography and tech enthusiasts passionate about creating the best editing experience possible.

With millions of photos being uploaded onto social network sites each day, photo editing has become more popular than ever. But with the cost and difficulty of Photoshop, many people feel lost. That's where PhotoCat comes in! We make photo editing fun and easy for everyone! PhotoCat is free with no registration required, available both on the web &iOS. We are also developer friendly, opening up our API for developers to integrate PhotoCat into their own websites.

PhotoCat is still in early launch phase with many new exciting and innovative tools to be released in the near future.

4. ipiccy.com : Innovative Online Photo Editor

iPiccy makes your photo awesome with many easy to use photo tools. Edit pictures, apply beautiful photo effects, add text and even paint! Enjoy free photo editing online and show your creativity with iPiccy editor!

4. pho.to : it's product of VicMan Software 

VicMan Software has been a leader in developing innovative imaging software solutions for about 10 years. It's pioneering digital imaging products gained popularity with users all over the world. Now they have made their technologies available online to provide even more convenience for image enhancement and sharing. Their Online Photo! Enhancement and Photo! Presentation platforms makes it possible for web developers to enhance and power up their web sites for free. 

They also offer various online services based on these platforms to give users a new, simpler and smarter way to enhance and share their photos.

5. picadilo : 100% Free Unique photo editing tools

Picadilo Photo Editor was started in 2011 with the goal of creating the most advanced free and easy to use online photo editor. And we have been constantly working on and improving our photo editor ever since! Picadilo is focused on ease of use and speed of editing. Make use of the advanced tools and the numerous ready-made effects that can be applied to a photograph - or parts of it - with the touch of a button. New features are constantly being developed and then added to our editor once perfected. 

5. Picmonkey : PicMonkey makes creative tools for photo editing and graphic design because we want you to rock the universe. 

They want your images to show your creativity, your style, your spot-on brilliance.

They are a small team of experienced professionals — plus one monkey — who believe that their greatest competition is their last release. They live to beat themselves at their own game, always topping what they have done with more features and more cowbell.

Ride with them as they take PicMonkey’s photo editor, graphic design features, and collage maker to new heights. The fun has just begun, folks.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a photo editor like Picnik or the people who made it, yup, that’s PicMonkey.

How to test your Internet Speed ?

There are some new tools with the development of technology, which could help to check the actual connection speed. 

Testing your connection will tell you if you are getting the speed promised by your Internet service provider.

1. SpeedTest.net : This is a free broadband speed analysis tool that allows anyone to test their Internet connection. During an online speed test the website will send your computer a file and then measure howlong it takes to download. It performs three key measurements checks to determine the overall quality and performance of your Internet connection. Click here to open the html page.

2. Pingtest.net : Use Pingtest.net to determine the quality of your broadband Internet connection. Streaming media, voice, video communications, and online gaming require more than just raw speed. Test your connection now to get your Pingtest.net rating and share the result with others.

Free Recharge Online for Your Mobile

Good news for all pre-paid mobile users in India. We came across a website which provides a free secure, easy and reliable medium to recharge prepaid mobile phone in India and in-turn also get special offers and deals.

The PayTM.com website is a product by One97 Communications.

Pay Through Mobile is a PCI DSS certified commerce platform that enables users to make secure payments on Web, WAP, IVR and SMS through credit card, debit card, bank account, mobile wallet or prepaid cash cards.

PayTM.com seems to be an effort to offer an online medium for mobile users to recharge their prepaid mobile phone.

On the website you can buy instant mobile recharge for mobile operators, such as Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea, BSNL, Uninor, Tata Indicom, Aircel, Tata Docomo, Loop Mobile, MTS, STel, and Videocon, among others.

Latest Update : Paytm in talks with Asian private equity firms to raise $350 million

Check out the new Paytm App now available online.

How many users can participate in Whats App group chat ?

Looking at the popularity of the Group Chat, Whats App has now increased its participating persons limit from 50 to 100. No up to 100 participants can be added to the common Group Chat.

 

The maximum number of users who can join the group were 50 but with the introduction of this new feature, now maximum 100 people can be added to a group.

For creating a group on Whats App, Go to setting and select New group option. When you create a group, you are the Admin of that group. Only the Admin can add people to or remove people from the group.

If the Admin leaves the group, then group’s random member will be automatically selected as admin.

Can i use WhatsApp on my Desktop ?

Whats App has become very popular among missions of active users. group chat feature of the Whats App has gave it more popularity among the users. Many people use it instead of using the message functions. Whats App is also used to send pictures, audio, and videos.

Whats App started with Android but now it is widely available on iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Symbian platform too. Whats App has become the most popular cross-platform messaging client. If you want to run it on your desktop PC, you cannot. As, there is no official way of doing it. But like every problem in this world, there is always some solution.

If you want to use the Whats App on your desktop, you just need to follow below listed tips.

1. Go to www.bluestacks.com, click on the 'Download App Player' button.

2. Install it the App Player on your PC, the installation wizard will guide you in the installation process.

3. Once the App emulator is up and running, Go to www.Whatsapp.com. Click on the Download Whats App button. Select Android as the mobile platform.

4. Save the .apk file on your desktop.

5. Once the apk file is downloaded, BlueStack App will automatically emulate and install it.

7. You'll now see Whats App in BlueStacks. Click on it to start. Accept terms & conditions and the installation is completed.

Updated WhatsApp !

Whats App had introduced the ‘Last Seen’ feature to hide your 'last seen', with this launch it did not cause much trouble!

Now it introduced the ‘Read Receipts’ feature with the blue ticks. where you can know that person you have messaged has read your message. This has certainly created a panic within whats app users!

Here is the good news for all whats app users. You don’t have to panic, as now you can easily disable blue ticks feature. You can go to the ‘Privacy settings’ and disable the 'Read Receipts' option. Simply turn it ‘off’. This will banish the blue ticks when you read other people’s messages.

Settings > Privacy > Disable the ‘Read Receipts’ option

With disabling this, Whats App will no longer display blue ticks when you have read their messages, but just as you hide your last seen, you are not able to see other people’s last seen, here too you will stop seeing blue check marks on other people’s chat box too !

You have to download the latest version of Whats App for enabling the privacy. The updated version is 2.11.44, which is only available on Whats App’s site for now.

Now you can heave a sigh of relief and not worry about being answerable to someone !

How to configure yahoo email in your outlook ?

Below are few simple steps using which you can configure your Yahoo account and your outlook settings can make outlook synchronizes with Yahoo eMail.

1. In your Outlook from the Tools menu, choose "Accounts."
2. Select the "Mail" tab.
3. Click the "Add" button.
4. From the Add menu, click "Mail."
5. In the text box labeled Display Name, type your name and click "Next."
6. In the Email Address box, type your Yahoo! Mail address (be sure to include "@yahoo.com") and click "Next."
7. Under "My incoming mail server is a..." select "POP3."
8. Type "pop.mail.yahoo.com" in the Incoming Mail (POP3, IMAP, or HTTP) Server box.
9. Type "smtp.mail.yahoo.com" in the Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server box.
10. Click "Next."
11. In the Account Name box, type your Yahoo! Mail ID (your email address without the "@yahoo.com").
12. In the Password box, type your Yahoo! Mail password.
13. If you want Outlook Express to remember your password, check the "Remember password" box.
14. Do not check the boxes labeled "Log on using Secure.."
15. Click "Next."
16. Click "Finish."
17. Select 'pop.mail.yahoo.com' under 'Account,' and click 'Properties.'
18. Click the "Servers" tab.
19. Under “Outgoing Mail Server” check the box next to “My server requires authentication”
20. Click the 'Advanced' tab.
21. Under “Outgoing mail Server (SMTP)”, check the box next to “This server requires a secure connection (SSL). Enter port number “465” in the “Outgoing mail (SMTP)” field.
22. Under “Incoming mail (POP3)”, check the box next to “This server requires a secure connection (SSL)". The port number in the “Incoming mail (POP3)" field should automatically change from 110 to 995. If it doesn’t, make sure the port number is set to 995.

How to capture the flash files from your system?

Many online gaming sites use Flash to make their games more interactive and user friendly. How many times have you come across a beautiful flash greeting card or a flash animated file on the internet? You can download these flash files on your computer very easily. If you use internet explorer or firefox or opera, here is a simple method to get the files.

For Internet Explorer users: (also for Opera users)
1. Play the complete flash file online.
2. Under 'Tools' menu go to 'Internet Option' and then 'General' Tab click the Settings button available in the Temporary Internet Files group
3. Here click the Settings button available in the temporary internet files group.
4. And now click view files to open your temporary internet files folder. Every file you opened through your browser is save here (by default)
5. Click View - Details. now click view - Arrange icons by - internet address. Depending upon the webpage, there could one or more Flash files (Shockwave Flash Object) under the mentioned internet address.
6. Once you find the right flash file, right-click and choose Copy. Then paste the swf file in any other directory.
7. So this files can be opened by your browser offline as well

For Firefox users:
1. Play the complete flash file online.
2. On your Firefox go to 'Tools' >> Page Info and go to 'Media Tab' on the page info windows
3. The media tab has a complete list (with preview) of Images, Shockwave Flash files that were downloaded by the Firefox browser.
4. Scroll down the list and locate your required swf file.
5. Click the "Save As" button to save the file on our system.
6. So this files can be opened by your browser offline as well
7. Firefox extensions are available to make this procedure even simpler

So next time you come across a interesting flash file online and want to download it, follow this simple steps and you can have the file.

Create a folder with name "CON" in Microsoft Windows

There are bunch of such names for which you will not be able to create the folder names. As the Microsoft Operating System has reserved few names for the system, which cannot be used for any of the new folders created.

Try renaming a new folder on your desktop to "CON", it will by default turn back to New Folder.

Below is the list of names which cannot used to rename any of the new folder. 

CON, PRN, AUX, CLOCK$, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5,
COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, & LPT9


You cannot create the folder directly using the Windows Explorer. But there is a option to create such folders or delete such folders using command prompt :

Creating the folder:

md \\.\\$path
e.g. prompt>md \\.\\C:\con

This will create a folder named "con" on your "C Drive"


Deleting the folder:

rd/s \\.\\$path
e.g. prompt>rd/s \\.\\C:\con

This will remove the folder named "con"!

rd(Remove Directory) command is used with "/s" switch as otherwise it would give error that "folder is not empty"!

On another hand...if you ever wondered how to create a folder with no name...then try this:

Create a New Folder from Windows Explorer
Select rename & type: "ALT+255"(Use Numpad)
ALT+255 stands for blank character in ASCII

How to access blocked websites from your email ?

The company named Legendum Ltd has released a free service that can send websites into your inbox with the URL as subject title. The process to execute this very simple and easy.

To request a delivery of a web page, send an email to www@web2mail.com with the address of the web page you want to view as the subject of your email message.

For example an email with the subject "pdaphal.blogspot.com" will request the blogspot website. You will receive a reply within 5 minutes. You can also choose the delivery time and frequency - daily, weekly, or on a particular day of the month.

So if you only have access to your email and other websites are restricted in your office then this free tool can help you keep updated with the website updates you need. You can try out the free service by clicking here.